In January last year, the US-backed Iraqi Governing Council incurred the wrath of Iraqi women by ordering that Islamic law, or sharia, replace the civil code that had governed family and divorce law since the 1950s.

Jurisprudence in Canada took a hit in December when former Attorney General Marion Boyd released her long-awaited report on the permissibility of Sharia law under the Arbitration Act of the Province of Ontario.

Based on its preliminary analysis, the Canadian Council of Muslim Women is deeply concerned about the recommendations contained in Marion Boyd’s report, Dispute Resolution in Family Law: Protecting Choice, Promoting Inclusion.